Cheaper Wash. Cities See Biggest Rent Increases: Study

TACOMA, WA - Cities in Washington that were once considered a refuge from high housing costs are getting more expensive. Cities like Everett, Tacoma, and Spokane have seen some of the biggest year-over-year rent increases in the state, according to new data from Rent Cafe.

Spokane and Tacoma saw the biggest increases over the past 12 months with rent growing 6.6 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively. Those two cities were also the only two that saw month-over-month growth out of eight cities Rent Cafe included in its research. Everett came in third with year-over-year growth of 4.8 percent.

And rents are expected to continue to rise in many areas.

"Several factors, including higher interest rates and rising home prices, could suggest that residential rents will continue to experience growth in 2019. The tight labor market will continue to put upward pressure on rents, especially in some areas, including a number of cities in the South, may continue to see rapid increases in average rents," Rent Cafe wrote in its report.

Spokane, Tacoma, and Everett are still cheap compared to places like Seattle and Bellevue, where average rents are more than $2,000 per month. But those expensive markets might be cooling: Of the 20 largest cities in the U.S., Seattle came in No. 16 for annual rent growth.

Spokane actually had the 22-highest annual rent growth of the approximately 200 cities included in Rent Cafe's research.

Here's a look at rent growth in eight Washington cities:

Caption: Aerial view of the Port of Tacoma on Dec. 18, 2017.

Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images